Achille Rivarde
Encyclopedia
Achille Rivarde was an American-born British violinist and teacher, who worked mainly in Europe and London.
to a Spanish father and an American mother. He studied under Felix Simon, Henryk Wieniawski
and José White Lafitte
. At the age of eleven, he became a pupil of Charles Dancla
at the Paris Conservatoire
, sharing the first prize with František Ondříček
in 1879.
He returned to America for three years 1881-84. In 1885, aged only 19, he returned to Paris to become principal violinist with the Orchestre Lamoureux. He remained in that post till 1891. In 1893, in Paris, he and Harold Bauer
premiered Frederick Delius
’s Violin Sonata in B minor.
He made his debut in London in 1894. In 1895 he performed Édouard Lalo
's Symphonie espagnole
for the first time in England.
His American debut came at Carnegie Hall
in November 1895 (where he was described as "a Spanish violinist". He was also said to have "just entered his 28th year", but he was in fact 30). The New York Times
critic said he "combines artistic sensibility with a lovely, fluent, polished execution", and also noted a resemblance to Pablo de Sarasate
, both in his playing and his physical appearance. (A photograph of Rivarde can be seen here.) Some sources say he was also a pupil of Sarasate.
In 1899 he became a professor at the Royal College of Music
. Apart from occasional appearances as a soloist in London and abroad (he shared the stage with Pablo Casals
at a 1913 concert), he remained a teacher at the RCM till 1936 and was held in great esteem. Carl Flesch
referred to him as "an important violinist and pedagogue". His pupils there included Anthony Collins, Eugene Goossens
, the violinist and instrument valuer Robert Lewin, and Margaret Harrison (sister of Beatrice Harrison
; she was aged only 4 when she entered the RCM to study with Rivarde).
Eugene Goossens wrote a piece for violin and piano called Old Chinese Folk Song 'To Achille Rivarde, Esq. Op. 4/1. Fritz Kreisler
dedicated to Rivarde his transcription of Dvořák
's 1st Slavonic Dance
.
In 1922 Rivarde published The Violin and Its Technique As a Means to the Interpretation of Music, a small manual of his own method in which he advocated elasticity of movement in every bar. In 1924 he started a separate school of violin playing in London.
He died in 1940 in London, aged 74.
Biography
Serge Achille Rivarde was born in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to a Spanish father and an American mother. He studied under Felix Simon, Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist and composer.-Biography:Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, had converted to Catholicism. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he entered the Paris...
and José White Lafitte
José White Lafitte
José Silvestre White Lafitte , also known as Joseph, was a Cuban violinist and composer. His father was Spanish and his mother was Afro-Cuban....
. At the age of eleven, he became a pupil of Charles Dancla
Charles Dancla
Jean Baptiste Charles Dancla was a French violinist, composer and teacher.-Biography:...
at the Paris Conservatoire
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, sharing the first prize with František Ondříček
František Ondrícek
František Ondříček was a Czech violinist and composer. He gave the first performance of the Violin Concerto by Antonín Dvořák, and his achievements were recognised by the rare award of honorary membership of the Philharmonic Society of London in 1891.Ondříček was born in Prague, the son of the...
in 1879.
He returned to America for three years 1881-84. In 1885, aged only 19, he returned to Paris to become principal violinist with the Orchestre Lamoureux. He remained in that post till 1891. In 1893, in Paris, he and Harold Bauer
Harold Bauer
Harold Bauer was a noted pianist who began his musical career as a violinist.Harold Bauer was born in London; his father was a German violinist and his mother was English. He took up the study of the violin under the direction of his father and Adolf Pollitzer. He made his debut as a violinist in...
premiered Frederick Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
’s Violin Sonata in B minor.
He made his debut in London in 1894. In 1895 he performed Édouard Lalo
Édouard Lalo
Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo was a French composer.-Biography:Lalo was born in Lille , in northernmost France. He attended that city's music conservatory in his youth. Then, beginning at age 16, Lalo studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Berlioz's old enemy François Antoine Habeneck...
's Symphonie espagnole
Symphonie Espagnole
The Symphonie espagnole in D minor, Op. 21, is a work for violin and orchestra by Édouard Lalo.-History:The work was written in 1874 for violinist Pablo de Sarasate, and premiered in Paris in February 1875....
for the first time in England.
His American debut came at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in November 1895 (where he was described as "a Spanish violinist". He was also said to have "just entered his 28th year", but he was in fact 30). The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
critic said he "combines artistic sensibility with a lovely, fluent, polished execution", and also noted a resemblance to Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués was a Navarrese Spanish violinist and composer of the Romantic period.-Career:Pablo Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Navarre, the son of an artillery bandmaster...
, both in his playing and his physical appearance. (A photograph of Rivarde can be seen here.) Some sources say he was also a pupil of Sarasate.
In 1899 he became a professor at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
. Apart from occasional appearances as a soloist in London and abroad (he shared the stage with Pablo Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
at a 1913 concert), he remained a teacher at the RCM till 1936 and was held in great esteem. Carl Flesch
Carl Flesch
Carl Flesch was a violinist and teacher.Carl Flesch was born in Moson in Hungary in 1873. He began playing the violin at seven years of age. At 10, he was taken to Vienna, and began to study with Jakob Grün. At 17, he left for Paris, and joined the Paris Conservatoire...
referred to him as "an important violinist and pedagogue". His pupils there included Anthony Collins, Eugene Goossens
Eugène Aynsley Goossens
Sir Eugene Aynsley Goossens was an English conductor and composer.-Biography:He was born in Camden Town, London, the son of the Belgian conductor and violinist Eugène Goossens and the grandson of the conductor Eugène Goossens...
, the violinist and instrument valuer Robert Lewin, and Margaret Harrison (sister of Beatrice Harrison
Beatrice Harrison
Beatrice Harrison was a British cellist active in the first half of the 20th century. She gave first performances of several important English works, especially those of Frederick Delius, and made the first or standard recordings of others.-Early training:Beatrice Harrison was born in Roorkee,...
; she was aged only 4 when she entered the RCM to study with Rivarde).
Eugene Goossens wrote a piece for violin and piano called Old Chinese Folk Song 'To Achille Rivarde, Esq. Op. 4/1. Fritz Kreisler
Fritz Kreisler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most famous violin masters of his or any other day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately...
dedicated to Rivarde his transcription of Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
's 1st Slavonic Dance
Slavonic Dances
The Slavonic Dances are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Opus 46 and Opus 72 respectively. Originally written for piano four hands, the Slavonic Dances were inspired by Johannes Brahms's own Hungarian Dances and were...
.
In 1922 Rivarde published The Violin and Its Technique As a Means to the Interpretation of Music, a small manual of his own method in which he advocated elasticity of movement in every bar. In 1924 he started a separate school of violin playing in London.
He died in 1940 in London, aged 74.